Secondary electric clock.



F. F. LANDIS] SECONDARY ELECTRIC CLOCK.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 21. I915.

1,313,304. Patented Aug. 19, 1919.

50 lever carrying the operating pawl 21, and C FRANK r. LANms, or WAYNESBORO, PENNSYLVANIA.

SECONDARY ELECTRIC CLOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 1 19:

Application filed July 27. 1915. Serial No. 42,192. i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK F. LANnIs, a citizen of the United States, residing at \Vaynesboro, Franklin county, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented and discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Secondary Electric Clocks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists of certainimprovements in the details of construction and arrangement of parts of secondary clocks designed especially to form a part of an electric clock system, wherebysuch a clock is provided, which is simple yet positive in its operation and not liable to get out of adjustment, and also one which provides a mechanism which increases the work of operating the clock in the exact proportion to the increased power of a magnet as the armature approaches the magnetic field, thereby elimihating the violent shock or stroke of the armature when arrested by the magnet, all of which will be hereafter more fully described in claims.

r Referring to the accompanying drawings, which are made a part hereof, and 'onwhich similar reference characters indicate similar parts,

Figure 1 is a rear elevation of a secondary clock movement embodying my said invention Fig. 2 an'edge elevation of the same,

Fig. 3 a top or plan view of'the' same,

Fig. 4 a detail view showing the parts to which my invention especially relates, in the extreme position opposite to that which the same parts occupy in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 5 a diagrammatic view for illustrating the point of contact between levers B and 34 at points intermediate the extreme points as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, one contact being indicated by whole lines at point :12, and another by dotted lines at point 2, both, as well as the contacts at the extreme positions of said levers, being on a line y-y, being a straight line drawn through the axis of the pivots of the respective levers.

In said drawings, the portions marked A represent the frame for supporting the various parts of the mechanism, B a pivoted the magnets.

The frame A is preferably a skeleton frame of cast metal of suitable size and arrangement to support the various parts of the mechanism. It has transversely extending studs 10 and 11' near diagonally opposite corners, to the outer ends ofwhich. a bar 12 is secured by screws :13 and 14. The mam arbor 15 on which the clock hands, or other indicating means (not shown) 1 are adapted to be mounted, is set in a suitable bearing in said frame at one end, andat the otherv end in said bearing in bar 12.

The train of clock gearing is in the main similar to that in common use, and requires no special description. It embodiesthe operating ratchet wheel 16 mounted on a sleeve surrounding arbor 15 and 'securedto said arbor 15 by friction through a spring yoke 17 in the usual manner. 1

Lever B is mounted on a pivot 18 on one side of the frame and extends in a substantially horizontal direction near to the opposite side of the frame, being provided with a contact'flange 19 on'its outer end, which is adapted to contact with a stop 20 secured on a part of the frame above. Said lever B "carries a pawl 21 mounted on a pivot 22, which pawl is formed with a weighted end 23 extending from said pivot at an angle with the part adjacent to the operating 1? ratchet wheel '16; The lowerend of said pawl is adapted to engage with-the teeth of said ratchet wheel to operate the same as the lever is vibrated. A member 24; is attached by screw 25 to the outer end of lever B.

This member rests on the outer ends of pivots'2'2 and 26 to retain pawl 21 and verge 27 on said pivots. Saidverge 27 extends across from the top to thelowerside of the mechanism and at its lower 'end is formed with a slot 28 mounted over apin'29 on a part of the frame, which serves as a guide. Said verge is providedwith teeth 30 and: 31 on its opposite ends, which are adapted to cooperate on opposite sides of .theratchet wheel 16. I

An armature 33, consisting of a rectangular block is provided with a projecting arm 34, and is mounted on a pole-piece 3.5

on the upper ends of magnet C. Said armature 33 is pivotally supported by its sharpfront corner resting on the top of said polepiece against pins or stops 36, which project upwardly from the topsurface of said pole-piece from itsrear edge. Said corner of armature is in line withyorexactly crosses, a point that '1 would meet a continuation of the curve of contactedge-of arm 34:. This is important, for'if the curved line on top edge of arni34 does not l waste of power, as the contact between the two would not be a perfect rolling contact. The arm 34 extends under the arInBv and, the adjacent edges areadapted to coiiperate in the operation of the mechanism. The

adjacent edge of the arms 3 and B have a curvature of exactly the same form and length but are not an arc of a true circle.

' thearm B,

I *so that the total In the position shown in Fig. l the magnets are deemigized and the edge of arm B is shown as resting upon theied'ge of arm 34 closeto its inner end, orclose to'the magnet. As soon as the magnets are ener ized by the closing of the; circuit by a circuit closer in the master clock (not shown) themagforce draws armature '38 downward to bring its lower edge parallel with the face of the polegpicce 3'5, which serves to bring am 34 into the position shown in Fig. 4. It will thus-be seen that at the beginning of the period of operation, while the field through which the magnetic curient must travel is widest and its magnetic pull the weakest, the leverage for lifting gawl 21 andverge 27 carried by'the arm through the lever 34 is very short, and while the armature is approaching the pole-piece and the strengthof the magnetic pull is increasing, the operative part of lever 34 len hens and'the operative put-0f arm B sho ens in exact proportion amount of work required tooperate the secondary clock is distributed in proportion: to the; increasing ower of the magnet from its weakest to its strongest pull throughout its movement. In other words, the distance between the fulcrum and the Weight'lengthens in proportion to the increase of power caused by the appro-oh ofrthe armature to the magnets, It will also be seen that the motion between the. contacting surfacesof the lever 34: and arm Bis always and only a rolling motion and novdragging of one over the other with theresnlting friction and waste of power is allowed. By this means exerted upon the i move the secondar ing' a very much the total power annature is utilized to clock, therefore requirees current, and causing v thearmature to approach the magnet at a uniform speed, obviating the jar and "sharp sound when the armature stops, which is so very characteristic in all devices operated by the direct pull of a magnet. The adjacent edges of the two arms B and 34 simply roll on each other throughout their entire movements, the point of contactbetween them always-being'in a straight-line be tween the centers of the pivot 18 and the point of rest at the corner-of the armature 33. Thus it will bereadily seen and-under stood that the magnetic energy is fully uti= ilized, from the fact that my mechanism provides a graduatedleverage, so that the leverage is always in proportion to the power, thereby eliminating the necessity of the actual work.

7 A pawl 37' is pivoted to the bar 12 and holds ratchet wheel 16 from return movement. r v

The operation will 'bereadily understood from the foregoing description of the apparattisflV'hen the magnet is energized armature 33 is'attiacted thereto and, as above described, serves to lift arm B carrying with it pawl 21 th'e'distance of one tooth of ratchet wheel 16,01- from a position of rest againsttlie back of one tooth to a position of rest against the back of next tooth, also lifting verge 37 to withdraw tooth 30 from between teeth of said ratchetwheel on the top sideand bring tooth 31 to between the teeth of said ratchetwheel on the lower side? The teeth 30 and 31and verge 37 prevent all possibility" of the clock racing. The deenergizing of the magnet causes said parts to fall and by their weight to relieve the ratchet wheel from engagement with tooth '31 andqthrough pawl 21 cause said ratchet wheel to move one tooth and bring tooth 30 of the verge into engagement with the next tooth of said ratchet wheel. The turning of the ratchet wheel in this manner, step by step, ing, as is well understood, to turn "the arbor 15 and the hands of the'clo'ck or other indicating means carried thereby.

' "Having thus'f-ully described my said in Vention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: v

1. In a secondary electrically operated clock'mechanism, the combination with the operating magnets, ratchet-wheel and pawlcarrying lever, of anarmature having an operating lever rigid therewith and arranged with its upper edge in contact with the lower edge ofsaid pawl-carrying level, the edges of said two parts being equally curved butin reverse directions and of the same length along their contact faces, said armature being mounted to rock oni a supstantial y as set forth;

operates in the train of gear- 2:"Ai1 electrically operated clock Inechanism comprising a ratchet-wheel, a clock train, a weighted lever pivoted to one side of the frame carrying a pawl engaging with the teeth of the ratchet-wheel and with a fverge extending across the ratchet-Wheel and provided with pallets adapted to engage alternately with opposite sides of said ratchet-wheel, a magnet, 21 tilting armature mounted adjacent the pole of said magnet and'provided with a rigid arm extending I across the clock frame with itsupper edge supporting the lower edge of said pivoted lever, the contacting edges of said arm and lever being formed curved and arranged to maintain the point of contact in line be- 5 -tween the pivot of the lever and the pivot of said armature, substantially as set forth.

3. An electrically operated clock mechanism comprising a clock train, a magnet, an operating ratchet-wheel, a pivoted lever carrying the verge and operating pawl, an armature carrying an oscillating arm and mounted to rock on a support ad acent the pole of said inagnet,.the upper edge of said arm being arranged in contact with the lower edge of said lever and the contacting faces of said arm and lever being curved and formed to maintain the point of contact between said faces on a line between the pivot of the arm and the pivot of the armature, substantially as set forth.

4. An electrically operated clock mechanism comprising a clock train, a magnet, an operating ratchet-wheel, a pivoted lever carrying the means for advancing said ratchet-wheel step by step, a pivoted arm connected to be operated by the magnet and arranged with a bearing face in contact with the bearing face of said lever, said bearing faces of said respective parts being formed on a curve to maintain the point of contact between said parts on a line between their respective pivots, substantially as set forth.

5. In a clock, the combination with an escapement wheel, of a lever forming a weighted arm and a verge arm, pallets carried by said verge arm to engage the escapement wheel, a driving pawl carried by said lever, electro-magnetic means for intermittently moving said lever in one direction and means for preventing retrograde movement of said escapement wheel.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal at Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, this twenty-fourth day of May, A. D.

nineteen hundred and fifteen.

FRANK F. LANDIS. [1,. s.] WVitnesses.

J. A. MILLER, ALF. N. RUssELL.

copies of thil patent may be obtained (or five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

